Merry Christmas and A Happy and Healthy New Year

I like to wish all of you a

Merry Christmas

 &

A Happy and Healthy New Year.

Starting in January, all new blogposts and many new topics. I am so sorry about having neglected this side for a while, but time this year was way to short. I do hope to see you all back here in 2019. It will be a new start with card ideas, techniques and a weekly scrapbook page tutorial. Looking forward to seeing you here. Thanks you all for your support throughout the year and for being such loyal readers. 

Make sure to visit my Close to My Heart website after Christmas to find daily specials up to 50% off . Everyday new up until the end of the month.....yes, new everyday

Super Flash Sale on Friday

Close to My Heart - Flash Sale Coming Friday, October 26

Celebrate the changing seasons with a 24-hour flash sale on my  Consultant website! The sale will begin at 5:00 pm (EST) on Friday, October 26, and end at 5:00 pm (EST) on Saturday, October 27! As with previous flash sales: 

- you need to order from my website

- products while supplies last

- no grace period 

Here is my website....make sure to join the Fall Collective Order https://claudiahenderson.closetomyheart.com/

Create Your Own Shaker Cards

 Shaker cards are really not that difficult to make, but they do need a little work. If you are new to this type of card I really suggest you try the "Cut Above Card Kit - Holiday Sparkle" (CC10189) from Close to My Heart. It has everything you need in it plus all things are cut and ready to go.

For those of you that plan on making a lot shaker cards, here is the basic product to start with:

"Thin Cuts - Shaker Window & Confetti" (Z4309):

These dies will cut the circle for the shaker window and the frame to go on the out side. The outside frame will have cut stitching on it too. The stars and hearts can be used as shaker elements.

Next, you need the acetate and foam to raise and seal your shaker part. CTMH made it really easy for you. You can order both items cut to size to fit the circle dies above. You will even get extra foam spacers to use on your card (these are the pieces from the inside of the foam circle.

"Shaker Window - Foam & Acetate" (Z4310):


The package contains 6 acetate circles and 6 foam circles.

 "Loose Sequins - silver or gold" (Z4304) or (Z4235):

Every shaker card needs something to shake right? So CTMH has a nice mixture of different size sequins and other embellishments. All you have to do is pick between the silver/blue or the golden/white.

You would also need a card base and envelope (X254), which CTMH has in a bulk package of 50 and design papers or cardstock. Well we have plenty of those in the Idea Book.

So you see, no matter if you are a beginner or pro we have you covert. If you like to know how to make a shaker card feel free to contact me. Stay tuned more to come....

Add Some Holiday Sparkle With A Shaker Card Set

I know it has been quite here in September, but honestly I don't know where this month went. On top I had some post prepared to go only, but it doesn't do you any good if you forget to hit the publish button, right?

Well back on track I want to show you this absolutely super cute shaker card kit we have in stock for the month of October. Taking about making shaker cards easy, this is it. Everything in this kit is precut and stamped.

But we can always put our own special spin on it can't we? This kit will make 12 festive shaker cards and like I set with a few extras you might have in your stack or things you can order with it, you can create some really cute Christmas Cards.

Right now you can order the Holiday Sparkle Bundle (CC101810) including the acetate, foam, embellishments, shaker sparkles, card bases and a D-sized stamp set for just $38.95. That's only around $3 per card plus you keep this stamp set for future projects:

In case you would like just the stamp set, well we have you covered too. You can order the stamp set "Love with All the Trimmings" (CC10188) for $18.95.

Last but not least, if you don't need the stamp set or the bundle for that matter, here is an option for you too:

You can order just the kit "Cut Above Card Kit - Holiday Sparkle" (CC10189) for only $29.95. Yes that is $ 2.50 per card...wooooowwwwww


I hope you will try this new set since it is only available from October 1st - October 31st and like always while supplies last!

Check back tomorrow to see how you can create your own designed shaker cards with brand new products that make it super easy. 

Shipping and taxes are not included in the prices mentioned above. If you are planning on visiting the Oakland Fair Fall Camp Scrap next weekend make sure to stop by my booth and you can make one of these little cuties....with a special twist to it :-)

The Brand New Close to My Heart Holiday Expressions Book

It is here! The brand new Close to My Heart Holiday Expressions book in available online for you.

CLICK HERE … CLICK HERE … CLICK HERE … CLICK HERE

Have fun checking out all the new items and papers. Don't miss out on a free copy of the Idea Book when you order from my website during the month of September. Yes, no matter how small or big your order is, you will get a Free Book as long as you place it in your basket before checking out.

Let me know if you have questions and enjoy the book!

Sneak Peek 4 - CTMH Holiday Expressions Book

Here we are on the final day of the old Idea Book. Tomorrow you will be able to see the brand new Holiday Expressions Book life. Make sure to check my blog post from tomorrow and click on the link to see the new book online.
Place an order from my website in the month of September and you can add a free copy of the new Idea Book to your order!

So what is so special this time, well all book are special in their own way. Each book has new papers and stamp sets, inks and embellishments and so much more. But this one is not only the Holiday Season one, it is also the beginning of a new Idea Book area.

In the past Close to My Heart published an annual book and three smaller Expressions books during the year. Well this is a lot of printing etc and it made it sometimes hard to remember all the good things in the annual book. So starting with the new Holiday Expressions book, CTMH will start a new area of books. No more annual Idea Book....yeah..... I know, but therefore we will get three Expressions books per year. This means 160 pages x3 filled with products, ideas and inspirations.

Each book will be around for four months and all paper collections and stamps in it will retire to make room for the new book. January 1st, May 1st and September 1st will be the new dates when the Expressions book go life. So more information and inspiration three times a year....Love it!

I hope you are as excited to see the new Holiday Expressions Book as I was. Have fun browsing the online version and remember....

If you place an order (no matter how small or big) on my website in September you can add a free copy of the new book to your order!

Please let me know if you have any questions I love to hear from you.

Sneak Peek 3 - CTMH Holiday Expressions Book

Here we are 8 days away from the launch of the brand new Close to My Heart "Holiday Expressions Book". So let's see if we can find out a few more things coming your way:

Paper Collections

The new book will contain beside five special paper collections one extra neutral pack of papers to go with all sets from this book. Yes, this is a new approach to bring neutral design papers and your paper collection together.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves:
The new paper collections are called:
- Boutique (late summer/ fall/ early spring)
- Hello Pumpkin (Halloween/ neutral) 
- Grateful Heart (Fall / Thanksgiving)
- 'Tis the Season (Christmas traditional)
- Oh What Fun (pastel Christmas, winter)
and
- Seasons Mix-In (neutrals)

While the paper packs stay in the same configuration with 10 x double sided design sheets and 2 x PML sheets with 3x4 and 4x6 cards to cut from.
The "Seasons Mix-In" will contain only 6 sheets of 12x12 double sided papers that can be mixed with either collection in the book.

So more paper choices and combinations, just what we are looking for.

Cardstock Packages

In the past our cardstocks were divided between 4 seasonal groups, which will be eliminated in the new book. No more groups, just a rainbow list of colors. This is also the reason why we no longer offer the color combos in the new book. I know, they always came in use, but this might make up for it: the new cardstock packs will be available now in smaller size packages. Instead of 24 per pack, all pack will now contain 12 sheets of one color of cardstock. So half the size of the old packs. I think it is a great idea, because with the combo packs sometime you ended up with colors you didn't need and with the smaller size pack you can now pick and choose exactly the colors you want without having to many left.

So what are our new colors called: 

Candy Apple, Peach, Ballerina, Lilac, Carolina, Bluebird, Mint, Sage, Clover, Nectarine and the annual color is ….. Sugarplum!

And as always...matching ink pads, re-inkers and some pigment inks will be available too.

A Birthday Rose for You

In this pretty card we combined a few different techniques that are easy to copy for you at home. First of, we used the "Beautiful You" (D1741) stamp set from Close to My Heart. If you ever wanted to try the layered stamping technique, then this set is a great start for you. The set includes three different sized flowers, leaves and a couple of phrases. While you can purchase just the stamp set, you can also get a bundle with the matching dies included. The bundle is called "Beautiful You Stamp + Thin Cuts" (Z3384)".

We started out with a white piece of cardstock. To use the layered stamps you need 3 different shades of ink to make it work. We used CTMH bashful ink for the base stamp (the big one of the big flower). Next we used pixie ink for the medium flower stamp of the big flower. Last we used blossom ink for the smallest stamp of the big flower.

The stamps are perfectly lined up on the carrier sheet, so when you take them off and place them on your blog, make sure to keep the same direction on all of them. Line them up with the previous one and make sure to start with the lightest to darkest ink. Some stamps might work in reverse order of the ink colors, but I normally always go light to dark.

After we stamped one rose in two opposite corners, we used a black pen and ruler to create the lines around the piece. The leaves are stamped with the masking technique. We stamped the first rose part (bigger stamp) on a piece of sticky note and cute around it. We then covered the completed rose up with the sticky note and stamped the leave on either side. Don't worry to stamp partially on the stick note. Once you are done remove the sticky note and the leave appears to be behind the flower. Now we cut from the middle of the cardstock around the lines and the rose to create a frame. 

Next we placed the pixie colored cardstock on the front of our card base and adhered the design paper with the writing right on top of it. The rose frame was placed with foam dots on top of the design paper. A few decorations and this card is done.

Oh and the leaves on the inside are stamped with secondary stamping. You ink you leave up in fern ink, stamp it on the inside and without re-inking, stamp it again right next to it. This way you will get a dark and a light impression of your ink.

You've Got Class Special

How many of you are still behind scraping all these school pictures of your kids? Yes, and they grow up so fast! To make you live a bit easier, Close to My Heart has a perfect special for you....papers, stamps, dies and more.

Click Here …. to see all options.

Remember this special is only for a short period of time and while supplies last. So take advantage of a set that will make scraping these pictures so much easier and fun.

Sneak Peek 2 - CTMH Holiday Expressions Book

It is Friday again and we are having another sneak peek of the upcoming Close to My Heart "Holiday Expressions Book". Let's get started:

Craft with Heart

This is our new subscription program. Yes, I know, it is not new to the market and many other companies have something similar, but as you know, this is Close to My Heart. 

Beside gorgeous paper packs and embellishments coming your way month after month, you also get an exclusive instructions to create pages and cards and all of this delivered straight to your door. You can choose between 1-month, 4-month or an annual subscription, awesome right? 

And for all your scrapbooking friends out there, how awesome would it be if you get a subscription gift to one of your friends? Yes, you can give these as gifts and each time they start a new month they will think of the best friend ever :-) No guess work no running out of items you need to create the project, no, everything in one nice bundle.

Because this idea was such a hit with us consultants they decide to pull the program ahead and give you an extra month to order. Just in time to find the perfect Christmas gift for your crafty friends.

Click Here ... and find out more about the program and how it works. 

Cricut

Psst … you haven't heard this here, but I think there is a brand new cartridge coming out... and I think it has something to do with Christmas.... stay tuned. I'll check if I can find more out about this.

For those of you still working with the Cricut Expressions or older, well time is slowly running out to get your cartridges. We do still have a few of our exclusive cartridges for sale, but all new ones will be in digital form like all other Cricut cartridges you can buy these days. 

So remember....Cricut Expressions or older you need a real cartridge.

Cricut Explorer or newer you can use digital or cartridges.

Stay tuned there is more to come …...

Sympathy Card in Shades of Grey

Sometimes less color is more especially when we are talking about a sympathy card. Here we used shades of grey to create an elegant card.

The card base measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and we cut a piece of dark grey cardstock at 4" x 5 1/2". The grey cardstock is adhered to the front of the card base flush with the left side or if you choose in the center to create and even edge around it.

The white cardstock strip is cut at 2 3/4" x 5 1/2" and was stamped with a swirly flower image. We used a lighter shade of grey ink for the stamping parts on this card. A partial image of the swirly flower was stamped to the inside of the card as well as the phrase.

The strip is adhered to the grey cardstock. We used a black journaling pen to add faux stitching to the edge. A few sequins, a butterfly punched from embossed white cardstock and a flag that was stamped with sympathy was added and this card is done.

The Magical Paper Pack is Back

For a limited time … Close to My Heart brought back the "Magical Paper Pack".
If you were looking for these papers in the past or missed out on the set the last time, now is your chance.

Click Here … to see which combinations are available!

Remember this offer is only available for a short period of time and while supplies last.

Sneak Peek 1 - CTMH Holiday Expressions Book

I know, everyone is so excited to finally get the brand new Close to My Heart "Holiday Expressions Book" in their hands. Oh I can tell you... it is packed with brand new stamp sets, paper packs, thin dies and so much more.

What? Why? Wait a second? Why do I know all this already, right? Well, one of the many perks of being an independent consultant is that we get to see new products a head of you ;-) 
Yup, I already have seen the new book and if you ever thought about joining my team, well now is the perfect time to do so. Give me a call or email me and we can talk about all there is to it. 

But for now, let's go back to the new book shall we? I will post a little sneak peek every Friday until September 1st when the new Holiday Book will go life for everyone. Make sure to check back often.

Cardstock

Our new book will contain 10 new colors. Yes, gorgeous new colors but this also means 10 colors will leave the family. Here are the colors that will retire after August 30th:

- Crystal Blue
- Juniper
- Flaxen
- Sorbet
- Pacifica
- Tangerine
- Blossom
- Cranberry
- Poppy
- Nutmeg

We will also have to say "Good Bye" to all cardstock combo packs, which means if you like these combo packs, make sure to order them while supplies last. Need to stock up on one of the retiring colors, well now is the time before they are gone for good.

Stamps

Oh my, there are so many cute sets retiring, but I have to many to list them here. If you have a question regarding a special one, let me know and I will check for you otherwise time to buy before they are gone.

We already run out of our super organizers in large, medium and small. Sorry if you were a fan of these, they are gone. I do have one or two remaining in my stock if you are interested, but otherwise they are gone. There will be new organizers coming but they are different from the ones we love.

Well, that's it for today. Make sure to check back next week to see new special in August and more sneak peeks...

Happy Birhtday Tuscany Style

Do you ever had a stamp set that is so pretty because it has so much detail? I love these sets, but often they are even more impressive when you color them in. Well, not always do I have the time to color every detail, but this is a solution that will work for me too.

First of, we used a regular card base and added a piece of cardstock embossed with some beautiful vines to it. (Oh, before you adhere it to the base, make sure to add the ribbon to the bottom of the embossed piece so the ends can go on the back of it). Now to the stamping part: We stamped the Tuscany scene in a grey ink to a piece of white cardstock. We also had a little bistro scene that was stamped on a round piece. Don't worry if either stamp doesn't fit completely on the white card stock, just let the stamp hang over the edges.
The Tuscany scene was added with foam dots on top of the embossed cardstock while the round piece was adhered to a round scalloped cardstock piece. We used just three colored pencils to give the round stamped image a little dimension. A few embellishments and this card was done. Oh and don't forget the inside :-)

New Idea Book and Stamp of the Month

Stamp of the Month

During the month of August, Close to My Heart is offering this cute stamp set. If you place an order of $50 or more from the current Annual Inspiration Book or the Seasonal Expressions 2 book, you can add this cute set from only $5 more or you can order it with out qualifying purchases for $17.95...plus shipping and tax.

Have a look HERE to see all monthly offers for August. 

Annual Idea Book

Close to My Heart will reveal the next Idea Book on September 1st which means the current Idea Book will be extended until August 31st. Yes, you have one extra month to order papers, embellishments, stamps etc from this book until they are gone....

What?....Wait?....Gone?

Well some items will retire while others will be replaced and or will be back in different packages. While I can't tell you all the details yet, make sure to check back often here to catch a few sneak peek of the upcoming new Idea Book. 

Also remember that the current Seasonal Expression 2 book is good until August 31st as well. Last chance this month to get the paper packs, embellishments and stamps in this book until they are retire as well.

I know, now you like to know what changes are coming? What are the new products? Are there any new colors? …. ;-) I know, but I can't tell just yet so visit my blog in the upcoming weeks often and catch a glimpse of things to come...

A Bunch of Thank You's

Here we used a really cute and versatile stamp set. It is called "Many Congratulations" (C1693) and it covers a lot of different occasions. For this card we used the flowers that come with the set.

Sometime we tend to overcomplicate things but this card is really not complicated at all. We used a regular 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card base and added a piece of dotted design paper cut at 4" x 5 1/4" to it.

The white cardstock piece is stamped three times with the flower stamp in black ink and adhered to a terracotta colored mat about 1/4" bigger than the white piece. To give the flowers a little more dimension, we used colored pencils to lightly shade them. A scalloped oval cut from golden glitter paper was added with foam dots and a little ribbon piece on top of the area where the flower met. "Thank You" was stamped on a matching oval and placed on the gold glitter piece.

Oh and don't forget to stamp and decorate the inside as well.

Here's to You Special

Here's to You...

The "Here's to You" campaign features a workshop kit inspired by life's special occasions. To celebrate these moments, the "Here's to You" workshop kit features four exclusive stamp sets designed for making elegant cards and layouts. The products in this workshop include four stamp sets and other items to create one 12" x 12" page and seven cards that can be used for weddings and many other occasions.

You can find the complete workshop kit HERE....

or if you rather would like to purchase just the stamps or the set including an embossing folder you can find all options HERE.

This special is only available from July 12 - August 31 or while supplies last. For questions regarding this or any other offer or product, please feel free to contact me.

Stampaganza from Close to My Heart

Welcome back to Monday blog posts of all things around Close to My Heart. Every Monday I will show you specials from Close to My Heart or upcoming events etc. Make sure to check back often to see what's going on.

During July, buy any two My Acrylic stamp sets at the full retail price and get a third stamp set of equal or lesser value free! You can choose from stamps sets in the current Annual Idea Book or Seasonal Expressions 2 book, plus the popular Solos number and letter stamp sets which are brought back for the month of July. You can find these sets HERE.

Christmas in July Flash Sale

Christmas in July Flash Sale

For all my crafty friends out there, did you miss out on some of the Christmas products from Close to My Heart recently? If so, here might be your last chance. I don’t know what will be coming up in todays Flash Sale, but it doesn’t hurt to have a look and see for yourself right?

Starting at 5pm today until 5pm Saturday you have the chance to get some really special deals. You will only be able to see and order items directly from the website, so don’t forget to check my site today:

https://claudiahenderson.closetomyheart.com/

Have fun and let me know if you have questions.

Oh and pssssssst……….. 

starting on Monday I'll be back with regular posts :-) 

Every Monday you will see all new special from Close to My Heart current and upcoming ones. Also make sure to check back often for updates, news and sneak peeks of the upcoming new Idea Book.....exciting changes and new products coming your way. 

See you soon

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!

On July 4, 1776 the Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation and the United States of America became independent from the British Empire. 

This is a brief description of what happened on this historic day.

During one of our many trips through the United States we got to visit the birthplace of our independence and experienced a lot of very memorable historic lessons. If you haven't seen it, make sure your next vacation trip takes you there.

But as history taught us, freedom and independence often comes with a bitter after taste. Many had to give their life's to archive and protect our freedom and independence. To this day many women and men fight allover the world for freedom and independence and we should thank them for their service every day.

We visited Arlington on one of our trips and it was overwhelming to see the rows of crosses. Words can't describe the feelings you have when you walk on these grounds.

Freedom, liberty and independence might be different for each of us, but seeing the symbol of freedom in the harbor in New York will explain everything. We were able to visit the immigrant museum in Bremerhaven, Germany the year before we went on a trip to New York. We started the journey overseas and ended it on Ellis Island in New York and learned what freedom meant for many of our forefathers.

"Lady Liberty"

May she stay strong no matter how hard the wind will blow and be the symbol of independence and freedom for generations to come.

I wish everyone a wonderful Independence Day.

Happy 4th of July!